Heat in the middle of the Cold War. The scene takes place in a room. We are in the 1950s, in Washington, in the middle of a “witch hunt” against communists and homosexuals.
Hawkins Fuller, dressed to the nines, works at the State Department, the equivalent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is sitting in an armchair, in his boxers. Kneeling in front of him, Tim Laughlin, ten years his junior, an idealistic Catholic and congressional employee, is preparing to perform oral sex on him. Hawkins delays the moment, tilts his lover backwards with a wave of his hand, places his right foot on his slightly disconcerted partner. But his disorder is furtive. Tim grabs his “dominator’s” calf, takes off his sock, licks the foot, sucks his big toe and pursues with full mouth, as if hungry.
“So, what does my boy want?” asks Hawkins, giving the signal that it’s time to take care of his crotch – his partner obeys without being asked. “He wants to go to this party with my scent on him?” That’s it ? He wants to talk to the Kennedys and the Grahams with my taste on his tongue? », continues the tie-wearer, who does not take long to cum. The scene ends here and the next sequence shows Tim arriving at said reception, where he sees Hawkins from afar, returned to his “heterosexual” life.
“I had never read anything like that in a script before”
This extract illustrates what is happening in the series Fellow Travelers, launched Thursday in the second part of the evening on Canal+ and available in full on MyCanal. A love story between two men, lived intermittently over three decades. The novel of the same title by Thomas Mallon, from which it is freely adapted, is limited to the 1950s. That is, the era of McCarthyism and the “purple scare” synonymous with the persecution of gays and lesbians, many of whom lost their employment and their attachments when despair did not directly push them to suicide. It is also a question of self-construction, of the quest for identity, of accepting, or not, one’s homosexuality.
And there are sex scenes. Marking. They are far from obscene – the series is not recommended for under 12s. But they don’t really correspond to what the general public is used to. Their erotic charge is undeniable. “I had never read anything like that in a script before,” Matt Bomer, who plays Hawkins, told Entertainment Weekly.
“It is always very important to me that the sex scenes are not gratuitous, that they have a beginning, a middle and an end,” emphasizes Daniel Minahan, director of the first two episodes, at the LA Times. We had a principle: to ensure that all these scenes were an exchange of power. »And to remind: “A sex scene is not there just to titillate you or shock you or to amaze you by showing you how daring we are. It must happen because the story demands it. »
“Refreshing to play and see”
“There was no intention of pushing the envelope or being salacious,” said Rob Rogers, the executive producer at Variety. It was about staying in tune with what it means to be careful with every decision we make, with the secrets we keep, with what we hide from as many people as possible, and which means that, when you finally experience such an intimate moment, sex can be incredibly passionate or aggressive or tender or very emotional – because you have to protect every other aspect of your life.”
Sexuality is also one of the facets of the characters and is treated as such in what she can say about them. “Sex is essential for Hawkins Fuller,” explains showrunner and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner to LA Times. What gives him his charm and his power is that he can continue to have sex in this very repressive period. He will protect this at all costs because it is his source of joy. »
“Hawkins has a public facade that is necessary for him to survive and evolve in his world. But underneath that he has a “fuck you” side,” Matt Bomer emphasizes his character’s ability to “not give a damn” about certain things. “For me it was refreshing to play, but it was also refreshing to see, not that all gay intimate relationships are like that, but in the fact that an aspect of gay sex is shown in such an authentic way and without hiding his eyes,” he adds in an article from the EW site.
“Do not romanticize oppression”
Ron Nyswaner does not say the opposite when he asserts Men’s Health having taken care “not to romanticize oppression” because “there is also something very stimulating in the fact of having outlaw behavior [au regard de la répression homophobe]. It increases the level of excitement, in a sense. »
A large number of people involved in the creative process of Fellow Travelers are gay men. When the men’s magazine asked him if having gay lead actors – who know what it’s like to adapt one’s attitude depending on whether one is in public or in private – helped to construct the sex scenes, Ron Nyswaner says yes. “I think for most gay men there is a period where they have to decide when to identify in a way that might disappoint people or upset them or make them uncomfortable,” he says. he. It’s easier these days. […] But I think that the experience [des acteurs] nourishes the series. »
“A conversation with their bodies”
Jonathan Bailey, who plays Tim, tells Collider having been “in tune” with Matt Bomer, on the way in which the intimacy of their characters is based on “eye contacts” and “the evolution of power dynamics”. “It’s a conversation with their bodies,” he adds.
Before agreeing to produce two episodes of Fellow Travelers, Uta Briesewitz, who is a heterosexual woman, contacted a gay friend about these scenes which she calls “explicit, honest and courageous”. “He enthusiastically said yes. From his tone, I felt there was something necessary in these scenes. I was excited about the idea of participating in this project without distracting from what it means to two men who love each other passionately,” she told LA Times.
We owe him in particular the image of a scene where Tim and Hawkins dance, naked, against each other, in the privacy of a bedroom as the sun sets. “Of course it’s sexy, because they’re both charming and the stage is beautifully lit. But they have to share this moment in an apartment. I started thinking about all the men and women who had to go through this, who couldn’t go to the prom as a couple or have an ordinary first date outdoors, Rob Rogers confides to the Californian daily. I hope the public understands. The sex is very realistic but it’s universal, people who just want to spend time with the person they love. »